Wiping acrylic paints is a technique often used to apply shading to an area of a painting.
Acrylic paint wiping techniques are often used to create shaded areas. Make a glaze or semi-glaze by diluting an acrylic paint with water. The wiping techniques used for acrylic paint include the use of the painter's fingers, paper towels or rags, or sponges with varying qualities of finishes.
Drying
Acrylic paints are manufactured from polyethylene based plastics, which were first developed as plastic based resins by German scientist Doctor Otto Rohm. Acrylic paints were developed from the research completed by Doctor Rohm by Bocour Designers Colors into a large number of acrylic paint colors. The pigment that provides the coloring of acrylic paints is suspended within an acrylic polymer emulsion, according to Acrylic Paint Information. Wiping techniques are often difficult to complete with acrylic paint because of the quick drying nature of the product, so a retarder can be added to acrylic paints to increase the drying time.
Glaze
By using a glaze, the appearance of the first layer of paint can still be seen through the glaze. Where an acrylic based glaze is added to a painting, the glaze must be wiped quickly after it is added to reduce the risk of watermarks appearing on the painting. To begin the wiping technique, a glaze or semi-glaze must be created by mixing acrylic paint and water to dilute the strong colors created by acrylic paints. A glaze or semi-glaze is often applied over a layer of paint that has already been painted and allowed to dry.
Wiping
Some artists apply a layer of diluted acrylic paint to a painting and wipe the excess liquid from the painting with their finger, according to War Factory. The use of the finger is common as it means the artist does not have to put down a brush and pick up another object, such as a paper towel or rag, to wipe the excess liquid from the painting. Since acrylic paint is fast drying, the time it takes to pick up another object to wipe the excess from the painting may be long enough for the paint to dry to the canvas and not be removed by wiping.
Materials
Alongside the use of a finger to wipe excess acrylic paint from a canvas the use of fabrics, paper towels and sponges are also often used. However, unlike the finger, a sponge can smear paint into areas that the painter does not wish to be wiped. Paper towels can also cause problems with the paper removing too much of the diluted acrylic paint, reducing the effects of the addition of an acrylic glaze.
